DinoCity (1992), is a platform video game developed and published by Irem Corporation for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.
The game centers on Timmy and his friend Jamie, two young children who are accidentally transported to a world resembling prehistoric Earth populated by anthropomorphic dinosaurs. While a device which will allow them to return home exists in this environment, a critical component has been stolen by Mr. Big, leader of a gang of Neanderthals known as The Rockeys, leaving the player to guide Timmy or Jamie to his castle to retrieve it. They are assisted by Rex, a Tyrannosaurus, and Tops, a Protoceratops, each with their own play-styles.
Game Objectives
- Emulator used: Bizhawk 1.11.4
- Takes damage to save time
- Abuses programing errors
Gameplay
Players are given the choice of controlling Rex with Timmy or Tops with Jamie at the beginning of the game as well as at the start of each new level. While Tops can throw darts to damage enemies from a distance, Rex is confined to close combat by punching them or swinging his tail. Each dinosaur character can defeat enemies by jumping on them, and at any point the player may relegate control to their human riders, who can freeze enemies in place by using a special energy device. While controlling the children, the dinosaurs become immobile and may be used as platforms themselves to reach otherwise inaccessible items.
In order to pass each of the game's six levels, players must navigate through a number of screens joined by doors. Each screen resembles a different
environment, and can include caves, jungles, grasslands, or ice caverns. Once a player has passed every 5 screens in each stage, they must battle a boss
in the end of each stage.
About the screens and doors
- There are 6 screens in each stage and there are two doors (red door and yellow door) at end of every first 4 screens.
- On screen 5 and screen 6, only red door appears.
After beats 2 screens (no matter which door and route you have chosen), every screen 3 and 4, the red door leaves to bonus stage.
Tricks and Glitches
Floating/Hover Trick
All you need to do is jump, and while in midair press R every other frame.
This trick was originally discovered by Blackpearl back in 2006.
Rapid Fire Trick
In order to perform this trick, you must press R in one frame, press Y in next frame, press R in next frame, and so on.
To avoid much freeze attack, there's another command:
Press R, wait 1 frame, press R again, press Y, repeating the command, and so on.
Trick discovered by me.
Landing Glitch
If you land on the edge of a platform, it's possible to walk in the air until to get up completely. It's very useful in several paths.
Discovered originally by Rawr.
No-Invicibility Boss Glitch
By firing a dino attack along with freeze attack, and both hitting the boss at the same time, cancels the invicibility, allowing the opportunity to attack without waiting for a next cycle. Discovered by me.
Freeze attack with jump Glitch
To perform this, you must freeze this Boss, then jump on his head. Works only with the bosses of Stage 1, 3 & 5.
Discovered by Mecha Ritcher.
Wall Jump Glitch
To perform this glitch, you need to be pushed a little to get inside of a wall, allowing you to jump inside.
It's possible to shoot some projectiles during of use of walljump to gain some pixels of vertical position. Glitch discovered by me.
- Note about rerecords: This rerecord isn't exactly, because i originally started on Snes9x 1.51, before I switched to BizHawk.
I estimate it to be in the 66500 approximately.
To start the game, I choose Tops because he can throw darts to hit enemies from a distance, and that helps to reduce lag in some parts at the stages of the game.
Stage-by-Stage comments
General notes:
- Most of this run uses the floating trick, which saves a insane amount of time, totally.
- This game lags too much on several stages (most notably the circus path).
- On start of every ice cavern 'path', jumping and pressing R two times results to gain normal speed instantly rather than walking.
Stage 1
- Near at end of the forest path, on the last set of 3 worms, if you let the top middle one eat you, it will take you to the ice cavern as if you entered the red door. Saves some time.
Boss: Crasher
- Simply: Defeating with rapid fire while he's froze.
Stage 2
- On the first screen, after reaches the top, since I have jumped on a specific position (the camera hasn't scrolled up), one of the enemies wasn't spawned, avoiding some lag.
- On the third screen, with a lot of precise position and autofiring R button, I can bypass these 2 skulls (althrough I pressed 'R' 1 frame later, to a little better optimization)
Boss: Monster Mole (x2)
- This is the first of 3 bosses that the 'freeze attack' can't freeze. Since the freeze can't harm, for some reason, firing a dino attack along with freeze attack, and both hitting the boss at the same time, cancels the invicibility (although there's no invicibility when his mounth is open), allowing me to defeat both moles with enough time on one cycle! (that's why I shooted 2 freezes on each boss, respectively).
- It's possible (with Rex) to defeat without the glitch, because his attack shoots very rapidly.
Stage 3
- Autoscrollers isn't easy to TAS not only for some entertainment, but for try to reduce lag.
Boss: Trampo Bird
- Freezing this boss + jumping with a dinosaur, it hits 1 life every frame, defeating him almost instantly (and even is faster than rapid fire).
Stage 4
- On the ice cavern path, walljump is performed right after the start. It's a bit faster than using a blue step.
Boss: Pole Press
- This is the second of 3 bosses that the 'freeze attack' can't freeze. Unlike the stage 2 boss, this one has real invicibility time.
- So, I used the 'no-invicibility' glitch all of the time to defeat him (on one cycle).
Stage 5
- During the 'circus' path, I take damage on the moving spikes to avoid much lag.
Boss: Fire Bird (x2)
- Mecha Richter told me that's possible to use the same glitch that was used on boss stage 3, but wasn't used on this run because firing rapidly was really faster.
Stage 6
- On the start of screen 1, for some reason, it's possible to drop the dinosaur to forward instantly instead of waiting for a wall.
- Near at end of the screen before the boss, walljump is performed to skip a elevator, following with floating trick at the top, saving a good amount of time.
Boss: Mr. Big
- Normally, you need several cycles to defeat this boss.
- This is the last of 3 bosses that the 'freeze attack' can't freeze. But unlike boss 2 and 4, it harms, to shrink him even with the 'no-invicibility' glitch.
- Because of his teleport attack, isn't possible to defeat in one cycle.
Special Thanks
- Mecha Richter, for a shortcut of forest path of stage 1, for the freeze attack with jump glitch, and for watching my progress.
- Rawr, for the landing glitch.
- Blackpearl, for the floating trick.
Noxxa: Judging.
Noxxa: This is a nice run, with a nice variety in tricks and other little optimizations. However, it is dragged down a bit too much by the overall slow movement speed and relatively large amount of autoscrollers. Accepting for the Vault.
fsvgm777: Processing.